The Wedding of the Century
by notsosecretfanfics
Summary: 2003 and Harry and Ginny have announced their engagement! During the party in the Leaky Cauldron Hannah thinks about what could have beens with a certain Neville Longbottom, who knows? maybe she still has a chance? After all they both need dates for the upcoming wedding of the century
1. The Engagement Party

**November 7** **th** **2003**

"DRINKS ALL ROUND! DRINKS ALL ROUND!" Harry Potter exclaimed loudly to the bar full of his friends who had joined him to celebrate his new engagement. "I'M GETTING MARRIED TO THE MOST WONDERFUL WOMAN IN THE WORLD! DRINKS ALL ROUND ON ME!"

The Leaky Cauldron erupted with loud, exuberant cheers.

Hannah Abbot, the barmaid, while happy to see her ex-school friends enjoying themselves in the celebrations felt a little put out as she was still technically at work and a round of drinks for such a large crowd meant more work for her and less time for actually catching up with some of those she hadn't seen in quite a while.

Still, even the extra work wouldn't dull her spirits completely tonight. Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley were getting married! There wasn't a soul who couldn't be excited by that prospect. Plus, of course, the occasion had caused a reunion of all the remaining DA members. A complete reunion which had unfortunately not happened since the end of the war.

Here tonight, however, the whole army was present. As she poured their pints Hannah wondered if the rest of them had kept their special DA Galleons, or if they'd lost them either in war or simply just lost them as anyone can lose anything in life. Hannah kept her Galleon in a special little golden box alongside a photo of her mother and her first Hogwarts letter.

With only a couple more pints to pull, Ronald Weasley climbed up and stood upon a table in the centre of the pub. Hannah was surprised old Tom the landlord hadn't already scolded and pulled the man down himself, but she supposed it was a rather special occasion and even old Tom could make exceptions every so often.

"Speech!" A familiar Irish accent shouted, sounding slightly slurred already despite it being quite early into the night. 'Typical Seamus' Hannah thought to herself as she handed the final pint to her fellow ex-Hufflepuff Justin Finch-Fletchley.

"All right! All right!" Ron said while waving his hands to the crowd that had all turned to face him. "Where can I start? … Well, first of all, Ginny, Harry, congratulations! Harry, ever since we first met on the Hogwarts Express in 1991, over 10 years ago now mate doesn't that make you feel old?" Ron laughed. "Well, since then I've always seen you as the black-haired brother I never had, and truth be told if you hadn't proposed to Ginny? I'd be setting you up with George!"

Shouts, hoots, and laughter filled the bar as Angelina Johnson yelled out "Too late, he's taken!"

Ron continued after the noise calmed down "What I'm trying to say here is … weddings are for creating unions, creating _families_ … and well, Harry, you've always been in our family. You and Ginny have practically always been a union. This wedding won't change a thing about any of us. And that's what makes it the best decision you two have ever made."

Ginny jumped up on the table and tackled her brother into a hug. Harry pulled them both down before saying a few words himself.

"Thanks Ron, that was brilliant." He said softly to the man beside him, he then turned to face the crowd of old Hogwarts friends. "And to everyone here tonight, I want to thank you all for being here with us, let's drink and have fun. I hope Ginny and I will be seeing all of you at the wedding." Harry punctuated the end of his short speech with a kiss on his new fiancé's cheek.

There was a round of applause before finally the pub seemed to quiet down to the more usual sounds of pub chat and catching up. Hannah found that working the bar during this kind of reunion wasn't too raw of a deal. She got to see and have quick catch-ups with most of the guests without having to move around from group to group to do so.

Many of the guests would order their drinks and talk to Hannah for a good 10 minutes before returning to their tables or being dragged away by at least one drunk Weasley. Hannah found that a lot could be said in so little as 10 minutes. From Dean and Seamus she'd learned so much about their 'American Adventure' they had taken earlier this year. From Cho Chang she had got some very interesting gossip about which some of her fellow Quiddich players' relationship dramas. And while she still kept in contact with Ernie Macmillan quite often there was always some event he was ready to proclaim dramatically and loudly when they met. Tonight Ernie seemed to be in a boastful mood as he predicted his potential promotion should be due before the month was out.

Hannah was really enjoying her chance to see everyone again. It brought back memories. Good ones.

In her fifth year, Hannah's confidence was practically in the negative numbers due to her exam anxiety. Her lack of confidence only seeming emphasised by hanging around with her fellow Hufflepuff prefect who seemed to run on pure self-confidence by comparison. The DA had given Hannah somewhere non-judgmental and fun to learn and practice her Defence spells for the upcoming OWLs. As well as being a reasonably stress-free study space it was somewhere she could meet new friends, or at least talk to those people she's been having classes with and yet she feels she knew no more than their name.

' _Like Neville Longbottom … '_ Hannah thought wistfully to herself.

Even when Hogwarts was at its darkest the DA was Hannah's light. She often thinks back to her time in that version of the DA. When it was no longer a study group. It was truly Dumbledore's Army. She thinks a lot about Neville Longbottom. She had always felt that she had grown quite close to Neville in the last year of war. They had quite a few things in common really, not least a passion for Herbology which often found the pair in shared quiet moments in the greenhouses, if only just for some normalcy during war. Being able to share Herbology with Neville helped Hannah survive that year.

When the war ended, however, he paired off with Luna Lovegood. A sweet coupling, so most people thought, but it didn't stop Hannah feeling like she'd been left on the shelf.

As she brought her mind back to the present, the party, she noticed that Ernie was now flamboyantly gossiping about Justin Finch-Fletchley and Susan Bones' recent outings together and how he was suspecting a new relationship in bloom.

"-I asked Justin earlier about it and he assures me that I'm reading far too close into a few luncheons but I beg to dis-"

"Ernie" Hannah interrupts Ernie, his arms stop in mid-motion

"… Yes, Hannah?"

"Speaking of relationships just reminded me, have you seen Neville and Luna around? It's just that it's getting quite late really and I haven't seen either of them at all tonight."

"Oh, of course, Luna is sitting by the Patil twins and her new beau Rolf. I do believe Neville has been sitting at the far table with Ginny and Harry for most of the night. Yes, he's quite hard to see from here but there he is!" Ernie pointed rather conspicuously towards the corner table.

Hannah followed Ernie's arm and caught a glimpse of Neville. He looked even more handsome than she remembered him, if just a tad bit lonelier. Suddenly something Ernie had just mentioned hit her.

"Rolf? Who's Rolf? There wasn't a Rolf that I can remember in the DA at all." She immediately questioned.

"Yes, yes Lovegood's new boytoy! Rolf Scammander!" Ernie seemed over-excited to discuss this "He is a few years younger than ourselves so he wouldn't have been in the DA but he's certainly making up for missing that excitement now! Every other week he's whisking Luna off with him to go and look for strange and exotic creatures. They met a year or so ago and they've been travelling ever since, hardly see them in one place for longer than a month really."

"But, wasn't Luna going out with Neville Longbottom"

"Hannah!" Ernie laughed boisterously, "That was around 5 years ago! No, no, they broke up around just before Rolf came into the picture … or was that just after? … Ooh, juicy if it is indeed the latter!" A voice called out his name in the crowd, Hannah thought it sounded like Susan. "Oh, well it appears I'm wanted elsewhere. And so I bid you adieu." Ernie practically bowed as he left his seat at the bar.

Hannah was left now, cleaning glasses behind the taps. She looked again at the far corner table to see Neville again. Thoughts ran through her head _. Memories of repotting Mandrakes together, of deweeding and seed harvesting. Memories of simply just sitting together and reading about the rare plants they weren't sure they might ever be lucky enough to see. How much he would appreciate some of the Asphodel breeds I had been able to grow in the Leaky Cauldron's Beer Garden. How alone she felt when she had learned about his relationship with Luna. How alone he looked right now, now that his relationship with Luna has ended …_

Tom came up behind her giving Hannah a bit of a shock when he said "Hey, it's dying down I don't need much help. Go on and have fun with your friends."

Hannah simply nodded her head and left the bar in a beeline for the corner table.

The table was by far the busiest, understandably having not only the couple of the night but also almost half of the Gryffindors from her year. With a confidence she wouldn't normally associate herself with she boldly announced her arrival with a probably-slightly-too-loud "Hi Neville!"

Neville looked up from his hands and straight into her eyes. "Hello Hannah," he smiled a soft smile that she hadn't seen in far too long, "long time no see … too long if you ask me"

They chuckled together softly at that sentiment.

"Neville, would you like to go talk somewhere? I-I actually have something to show you … thought you might appreciate it …"

"Yeah, sure, of course." He stood up from the table to follow Hannah away. As they walked through the pub they could hear what sounded like George Weasley wolf whistling, followed by what they could only assume was Ginny punching him hard in the arm.

Hannah led Neville out to the back of the pub, "We've just recently opened a beer garden, and well it's a bit cold tonight to be sitting here but I wanted to catch up with you and I thought it might be a good place to talk." She explained, "Also I can show off some of the beautiful Asphodel breeds I've been able to grow here." Grinning wide as she spoke, "I know of all people, you might appreciate them."

"We always did have Herbology together," Neville half chuckled.

The two fell into a silence as they looked at the flowers, appreciating how they reflected the light of the moon so beautifully.

Hannah was the first to speak and break their silence.

"So Harry and Ginny, eh? Getting married. Makes me feel like an old maid."

"You're not an old maid, Hannah"

"Still, it's like real adult stuff. Everyone seems to be up to real adult stuff lately. Promotions, relationships, babies! And I'm here … single and working as a bar wench!"

"Yeah well adult stuff isn't all it's cracked up to be, trust me. You enjoy your job, I'm starting to think that being an auror wasn't the path for me."

"What makes you say that?"

"Honestly?" He turned to face her, "not enough plants"

Hannah giggled

"No, seriously!" Neville continued, "Even just seeing your beer garden it hits me how much I miss Herbology. I was actually considering training to teach it, I heard a rumour that Sprout is looking out, finally retiring, and maybe … I don't know though. Everyone else says I should stick to what I've got, that I could contribute much more to society but …"

"I think it sounds wonderful, Neville!" Hannah replied enthusiastically, "I've had plenty of people, well mainly Ernie, tell me I should be aiming for more with my life but honestly you're right! I do enjoy my job and I believe that if you aren't happy with something in your life then you have the right to try and change it"

Neville looked at Hannah earnestly, "Thank you, Hannah. It means a lot to hear you think that way too."

Another silence. This time their eyes are not lost in the flora but in each other.

"It's going to be the wedding of the century."

It was Neville who broke the silence this time.

"Huh?" queried Hannah.

"Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley, y'know, the reason everyone's at the Leaky Cauldron tonight?"

"Oh yes, I guess it could be," Hannah gave a soft giggle, "so who would you be taking to this so-called 'wedding of the century'?" She prodded further "any girlfriends? … boyfriends?"

"No, no, I'm … I'm not seeing anyone right now so … no plans for … uh … wedding dates?" Neville replied clearly flustered.

"Well I'm not going with anyone either … yet … no plans for wedding dates here … yet?"

With a loud bang the back door entrance to the pub crashed open, revealing a rather intoxicated looking George Weasley who shouted "HEY, YOU TWO! LOVEBIRDS GET IN HERE! YOU'RE MISSING RON AND SEAMUS! THEY STARTED DANCE BATTLING!" before running straight back towards the action.

From inside they could hear laughter, cheers, and shouts. They knew they should head back inside but somehow neither really wanted to leave this peacefulness the other had provided.

"We should go" Neville finally said, after what must have only been seconds but felt like minutes.

"Yeah, …. But, Neville?"

"Hannah?"

"It's been really nice seeing you again, maybe you should come around some time when its not so … noisy? It would be nice to talk, y'know, like the old days?"

"Yeah, that'd be nice"

They entered the pub once more. Both feeling a little less lonely after tonight.

/End of Chapter 1/

/thanks for reading - reviews appreciated/


	2. Dusk Blooms

_**/AN: this is a little shorter than the last and its much more focused on Neville, there's also a little bit of a flashback at the start here. I think it might be cool to insert little aspects of their history as the story continues. I apologise in advance for any spelling or grammar issues or even silly editing mistakes! I noticed a few silly ones myself in the first chapter only after I'd already published it! This is un-beta'd so I apologise for any mistakes is simply me not noticing them. That being said if I make a real proper mistake and don't explain it (like getting straight up facts wrong) do point those out as I may just be ill informed. I'll stop ranting now, read and enjoy :)**_

 _ **Hogwarts Express, September 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1997**_

 _As Neville walked through the carriages he took notice of everyone around him. All the returning familiar faces, the terrified new faces of the first years who wouldn't be able to even compare how Hogwarts will have no doubt changed. What really stands out is the missing faces that should still be here, the muggle-born students who were no longer allowed to attend. He's reminded of these missing students especially when he spots Seamus Finnegan at the end of the carriage. Dean Thomas, one of his own dorm-mates, would not be at Hogwarts this year._

 _Neville decides to make his way to the end of the carriage, he could sit with Seamus, when he notices another face out of the corner of his eye. A tear-stained face of a girl who was not forced to leave this year, but forced to return._

 _"Hannah?"_

 _She turns and looks up at him, confirming her identity. Hannah Abbott. He remembers the interrupted Herbology lesson last year. How she had left Hogwarts after the news of her mother's death. 'No,' he thought 'Her mother's murder.'_

 _"Hannah, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for everything that happened last year … I'm glad you're back" he said as softly as he could._

 _"I didn't want to be back," she replied lowering her head again, "I wanted to stay home. I wanted to be with my family."_

 _Neville could hear her snuffle a little, clearly the wound was still fresh. He placed a hand on her shoulder._

 _"You are with family, Han. Here, in Hogwarts, we're your family too."_

 _She looked at his hand and her gaze followed up along his arm towards his face. When she finally made eye contact Neville gave a sweet smile, a soft smile, and Hannah appreciated it._

 _"I did really miss you when you left last year, I mean don't tell Lavender but you were a far better Herbology parter."_

 _She laughed softly in response, it sounded like she hadn't laughed in a long time. Now that Neville thought about it, neither had he._

 _"Thank you, but you might have to deal with her for another year." She sighed, "I missed too much so I'm still a sixth year technically."_

 _"Oh well-"_

 _"Longbottom! Here! I saved you a seat" Seamus interrupted Neville's thoughts._

 _"Come on, Luna's got some ideas on improvements we could make to the old DA Galleons!" Seamus said quietly but enthusiastically. To an untrained eye Seamus would have appeared completely fine, his usual optimistic self, but Neville knew that it was probably a bit of a show to help raise the moral of their group._

 _Neville turned to Hannah and uttered a simple "I'll see you around … " before making his way to the end of the carriage._

 **Ministry of Magic, November 11** **th** **, 2003**

"Theodore Nott has been spotted in Yorkshire, Heslington it seems. Potter, Longbottom, here's the full details, see if you two can catch up to him!" Kingsley Shacklebolt commanded.

"Right, Sir!" Harry replied enthusiastically as he made his way across the room towards Neville.

Neville got up slowly, clearly not as keen as Harry was for a task like this today. Harry noticed.

"You good to Apparate today, Nev?" Harry asked, clearly concerned.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm-uh … I'm good let's go"

Harry wasn't sure if he believed his friend or not but there was no time to waste.

The pair Apparated to the villiage.

When the two arrived in Heslington, Harry shot off towards the house that Theodore Nott had been spotted in. Neville stood still for a second or two.

He'd felt so distracted all day, all yesterday … In truth, he'd been distracted the whole weekend as well. Hannah's words from Friday night playing on loop in his mind.

 _'If you aren't happy with something in your life then you have the right to try and change it'_

Should he really change his life?

He shook himself out of his distracted state and tried to focus on the task at hand. By the time, he entered the house he heard Harry loudly shout "BLAST ENDED SCREWTS! We weren't fast enough, Nev. He may have Apparated but he may not, either way we should look around for clues to see if we can figure out where he might have headed. I'll get the upstairs, you take down here."

They split up to search the house, as Neville entered the kitchen he noticed a large garden through the windows. The large, overgrown hedge was lined with some Evening Primroses, a flower that blooms at night. It reminded him of the Dusk Blooms, a round bulbous flower that bloomed as the sun set while giving out a radiant white glow. He often used to see them in the winter at Hogwarts.

 _'Dusk Blooms would be lovely in the Leaky's beer garden_ ' Neville found himself suddenly thinking, a smile growing on his face as he thought so.

But before he could question the thought he heard Harry announce his findings on Mr Nott's whereabouts.

"I found a section of ripped cloak, possibly Nott's. If it is his then that would suggest he heard the Ministry had sent Aurors his way and he's Apparated as soon as he could. Almost spliced himself doing it so his cloak tore. We'll just contact the department of transportation when we get back, see if they have any idea where he could've gone."

Neville continued staring out the window as Harry talked.

 _'If you aren't happy with something in your life then you have the right to try and change it'_

He didn't want to hear about Auror business right now. He wanted to think about what other plants could be grown out the back of the Leaky Cauldron. He wanted to think about plants he could grow for himself out the back of his Grandmother's house. Being an Auror took up so much time that Neville felt he never had time for the things he truly enjoyed.

 _'If you aren't happy with something in your life then you have the right to try and change it'_

He felt Harry's hand on his shoulder. "Neville, are you ok?"

 _'If you aren't happy with something in your life then you have the right to try and change it'_

Neville looked into Harry's concerned eyes.

 _'If you aren't happy with something in your life then you have the right to try and change it'_

"I'm quitting"

Harry's eyes changed from concerned to confused. "What?"

"I'm quitting. I'm going to train to teach Herbology, Sprout's looking out and I'm looking in. I'm quitting, Harry!"

"Neville! You can't be serious? You're a great Auror!"

"That doesn't matter! Harry, someone recently told me 'If you aren't happy with something in your life then you have the right to try and change it'. That's what I'm doing! That's why I'm quitting." Neville exclaimed, his face brightening every time he repeated the phrase 'I'm quitting'.

As Neville's face rose, Harry's fell. "Oh, was it? I wasn't a-? You really? … huh … well, Neville, if this is what you really believe is best then … I support you, mate … I really hope it works out. And hey! You'll definitely be missed around the office!"

"Thanks, Harry. Now, uh, I have something I need to do. I'll meet you back at the Ministry later, I'll have to hand in my 2 weeks properly later but this, uh, I feel like I shouldn't waste much longer with this."

And so Neville Apparated to a field near Hogsmede, one he knew was filled with wild Dusk Blooms every winter.

'These will look lovely in the Leaky's beer garden' he thought as he carefully harvested some of their seeds.

/end of chapter 2/

/thanks for reading and reviewing the last chapter - I replied by message but it really does mean a lot :)/


	3. The Bell Above the Door

_**Room of Requirement, October 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **1997**_

 _The school had changed so drastically since they had all left it. With Dumbledore gone it no longer felt like the safe haven it once was. But just because Dumbledore was gone, and Harry Potter was off fighting Death Eaters in the outside world, that did not mean that his Army had been disbanded. And just as the castle had supported the members of Dumbledore's Army when they were fighting Umbridge's reign, the castle was yet again allowing their headquarters in the Room of Requirement._

 _They couldn't remain in the Room for too long without arising suspicions but it was a useful place for recuperation after the Carrows had inflicted punishments in detentions. It was, of course, also a useful place for plotting their next act of protest against Snape and the Carrows._

 _"I noticed this morning in Muggle Studies I noticed that Carrow left her flask on the desk when she brought Seamus to the front to make an example of him for speaking up in defense of muggle-born wizards" Padma enthused._

 _"So?" Ginny replied, speaking really for the whole group._

 _"Well, she always has that flask on her hip, it's never out of her sight. Except when she's distracted by punishing a student! She was completely turned and didn't even notice the various hand gestures and faces that Terry and I pulled!"_

 _"I noticed! Actually kind of helped get me through so thanks for that." Seamus, badly bruised but not broken, assured Padma._

 _"If we could distract her again, nothing major just enough to be pulled up. Let's face it, it won't take much for that will it. If we can do that then we could slip something into her flask … the only question is what?"_

 _The group was silent for a moment until Neville, the seemingly new 'Leader' of Dumbledore's Army, suggested "What about Venomous Tentacula Juice?"_

 _"Genius … " Hannah breathed out in response._

 _"Venomous? We talking poison? Nice one, Neville!" Seamus patted Neville on the back._

 _"It's not poison!" Hannah answered, "Well, it is … but it's not deadly. It's clear, and essentially scentless but it causes severe burning on the insides of its drinker and if enough is ingested it can turn the skin purple."_

 _"Exactly! As Hannah says," Neville responded. "Is there any other ideas from the group?"_

 _"Nah, mate, that sounds like a good'n" Seamus spoke as the rest of the group made agreeing noises._

 _Neville stood up and announced to the group "Venomous Tentacula juice it is! I am going to need help harvesting it though … Hannah? Want to help extract the juice with me? You seem to know the plant well and I …. I trust you with this."_

 _"Me?" she questioned not even sure if she'd heard him right, "Help you? Um I-um … When?"_

 _"Well there's no time to waste, I'm sure Professor Sprout wouldn't have a problem with us two going to the Greenhouses. If the Carrows or Snape ask it's not unreasonable that we'd be revising Herbology. We'll just have to be careful about getting the juice back up here to the seventh floor but we should be just fine."_

 _He held out a hand to help Hannah up from the ground. She took it and he led her out of the Room of Requirement._

 **The Leaky Cauldron, November 12** **th** **2003**

Today was a slow day and Hannah certainly wasn't helping herself by keeping her eyes trained on the door all day. _'It hasn't even been a week'_ she thought _'he'll show up someday to talk, he said he wanted to!'_

As she tried to distract herself with cleaning behind the bar when she heard the bell above the door ring _. 'It's him! It's him!'_ she cheered internally as she practically twirled around only to see Ernie Macmillan flouncing towards his usual seat at the bar.

"Good Afternoon, Hannah!" Ernie said as he sat down.

"Hi … " Hannah mumbled in return, unable to hide her slight disappointment that Ernie wasn't quite who she was waiting to see.

"Well, you're certainly happy to see me then." He had clearly noticed the drop of her face.

"No, no, Ernie I am happy to see you as always … I'm just-"

"-Expecting someone?" He interrupted, raising his eyebrows suggestively "A gentleman caller, perhaps?"

"Ernie! I'm-of course I'm not! There's no-I don't have a gentleman caller! I'm not expecting anyone!"

"Alright, alright, I believe you! No need to go on the defensive position, Hannah."

She sighed, thankful her friend wasn't going to push this further right now. "Well then, the usual Ernie? Butterbeer?"

"Yes, thank you, Butterbeer sounds positively delectable right now!"

Hannah moved to grab a glass and start pulling Ernie's order. "So any news on that promotion you were 'So obviously the perfect candidate' for?" she asked.

"No! In a truly outrageous turn of events, the Head of the Department chose to appoint his own son for the position over me! Nevermind the fact that I have two whole years' worth of experience over him professionally … I've found the whole ordeal to be exceedingly unfair! I asked the Head personally why I was not chosen for the job, with me being such a loyal and hard-working asset to the department surely that had to count for some recognition, right? Well, he told me that it was my hard-working nature that meant he _'couldn't lose me from my current position'!_ Honestly! Hufflepuff discrimination if I ever heard it, really! I should have expected this though, he was always such an overt Ravenclaw."

As Ernie spouted his tale of dejection Hannah nodded along but still found her eyes drifting to the door.

Suddenly she saw snapping fingers in front of her face.

"You ARE waiting on someone aren't you?!" Ernie accused, "Looking over at the door while I spin you my sorrows! Hannah, I've not had the best of days really if anything you owe it to tell me who this mystery person is! You know, as a kind deed? For a sad friend?" He pouted his lips and attempted the best puppy-dog-eyes he could.

"Ernie … there's no one … I'm sorry, I've just been having a long day today. I'm sorry about your promotion too, maybe there's some other fun news we can talk about instead. Hmm let me think-"

"Oh I know!" Ernie interrupted again, "Have you heard the rumours about the Potter/Weasley wedding?"

"No? What rumours?"

"Well, I heard through the grape vines that the wedding itself is happening next month! A quick engagement? A sudden wedding ceremony? Yes, maybe they're just so in love and can't wait. But, the rumour is that the reasoning for all the quickness is …." He paused for dramatic effect.

"Is?" Hannah pushed, leaning in to make certain she hears his reveal.

 _"Ginny-Weasley-is-pregnant!"_ Ernie rushed out in a whisper so fast that it sounded like one word. But Hannah heard what he said.

"Really? Wow, they're so young though! And-"

The bell above the door rings and so Hannah's attention shoots immediately over towards it. It was just a pair of local witches leaving. _'Stop thinking every ring will be him, you're getting your hopes up for nothing …'_ she cursed herself.

Ernie sighed across from her. "Will you at least let me guess who it is?"

"Ernie I told you its-"

"Ah-ah-ah!" He shushed her and hummed a bit, thinking to himself before asking "Is it Neville Longbottom, perchance?"

"Wha-How? I mean-No, Ernie there's no one I-I-I … yes its Neville Longbottom, there are you happy?" Hannah answered, cheeks pink and eyes looking down at her feet.

"Yes, I am happy, Hannah! This is wonderful, we all saw you two canoodle-ing out the back door" He nudged.

"Ernie! It wasn't like that! We were just chatting and looking at the flowers I've planted outside in the beer garden" Hannah argued.

"' _chatting'_ ooh _'looking at the flowers_ '," he joked, "If that's all it was then why are you expecting to see him again?"

"Well we didn't really get to catch up so much because we kind of got lost-"

 _"'Looking at flowers'_ " He wriggled his eyebrows

"If you don't stop insinuating like that I'm going to have to put you on the ' _No Serve'_ list" Hannah joked in response. "We really were just looking at flowers … I invited him around to visit so we could actually chat and he said he'd love to and I know it hasn't even been a week but I'm getting more and more anxious each day he isn't here!" As Hannah explained herself, her words got faster and faster.

"Aww that's sweet" Ernie gave a genuine smile, "I hope he turns up soon then, before the anxiety gives you a heart-attack!"

The bell above the door rings. Both turn their heads immediately. This time it is Neville Longbottom.

"Guess I'll take this Butterbeer and leave you two to it then" Ernie winked as he left for a table not too far from the bar and proceeded to take out a copy of the Daily Prophet.

Quickly Hannah checked her reflection in the mirror behind the bar, pulling her hair out of the loose bun she was wearing before turning around to see Neville standing with a wide grin on his face.

"Hi Neville, I wasn't expecting you so soon!" Hannah greeted him, trying to seem cool as she flicked her blonde hair behind her shoulder.

"Hi Hannah, hey is that Ernie I just saw you talking to?"

"Who? Oh yeah, Ernie comes here a lot. Probably too often if I'm honest. I think he's addicted to Butterbeer now. I should stop serving him. I should also stop talking about him because nevermind Ernie right now, right? Ha … how are you, Nev?" Hannah answered, clearly flustered.

"I quit."

"You did?"

"Yeah, I quit!"

"Oh wow, Neville I'm so proud of you! When? Are you going to train for Hogwarts?"

Neville beamed at Hannah's approval. "Yesterday actually. Yeah, I headed to Hogwarts and spoke with Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout about training for the post and they said they'd happily take me next year to help with the younger classes as part of my training. That way Sprout would also get some time off. Honestly, Hannah, I really have you to thank for this. It was your words from Friday night that really pushed me into thinking about my life and what I wanted from it." He rubbed the back of his neck, "I just really wanted to thank you for that."

"Neville," Hannah's gasped, "that's … really sweet of you."

"Oh and one more thing!" Neville said while reaching into his pockets. "I was in Hogsmede and I saw these Dusk Blooms and thought they'd look really good in that beer garden you've been working on." He opened his hand to reveal Dusk Bloom seeds. "Maybe when you get your break we could go out and plant them?"

"That sounds wonderful, Nev- but … my break isn't for another hour, and I wouldn't want to keep you waiting around …" she said, worried he may not want to wait around just to plant some flowers.

"I don't mind, it gives me an excuse to stay and talk to you. I mean, we never really did get to catch up properly on Friday, did we?" He smiles his sweet, soft, warm smile and Hannah utterly melts. "Plus, if the bar gets too busy I could always catch up with Ernie over there." He added with a chuckle at the end.

It was then that Hannah looked up towards Ernie's table only to see that he had not been distracting himself with the Prophet but had most-definitely been listening into the whole conversation. The look in Ernie's eyes said _'Yes! Neville, come here! Let me tell you how Hannah is head over heels!'_

She returns her gaze from Ernie's eyes back to Neville's. "Well, if I'm going to be keeping you here for long because I'm working …. Maybe I should do some work. Can I get you anything?"

"Butterbeer sounds nice, thanks"

And so Hannah pours Neville his drink and they begin chatting. Catching up for real this time. The bar doesn't get too busy before it's time for her break and they make their way outside to plant the Dusk Blooms. Hannah assumes that Neville will leave when they're done but he doesn't. He orders another drink, from Tom this time as Hannah is still on her break, and continues to talk with her.

It's only when four hours has passed by, the two chatting the time away, Hannah's shift is even long over by this point.

Only then, when the night is late and the pub is soon to be closing that old Tom finally has to kick them out.

They part. Both agreeing to meet again.

/

 **/end of chapter 3/**

 **/thank you for reading/**

 **AN: Longer than the last but still kinda short and sweet. Thank you all those who have followed this story, it really motivates me to write more and that means a lot! 3 I hope you all like Ernie, he was always one of my favourites in the books from how over the top he was even when he only had only a short amount of lines. I hope I've done him justice, honestly. Review if you can :) Reviews mean the world to me!**


	4. Invitations

**The Longbottom Home, November 15** **th** **2003**

Neville sat in the front room in the soft seat by the window, studying his new Herbology books to prepare himself for starting his training course in January. He already knew most of what this particular book was touching on already but a little revision wouldn't hurt.

From his seat he could see the path up to the front door. The seat was his grandfather's and normally his grandmother would not allow him to sit there but his grandmother had left a few hours earlier to purchase some fresh produce from the market in town. If he had his timing right she would be home soon, so he found himself occasionally glancing up to see if she'd returned yet, not wanting to be at the end of his grandmother's scolding. That would definitely put a damper on his mood and he had been in such a good mood recently.

Thinking of it now he hadn't been in such a consistent good mood since … before Luna left …

 _'No'_ , Neville thought to himself. _'I'm not going to think about her now, I'm not going to!'_ He looked back at his book and turned the page. _Screaming Sea Holly_ … _'ah … I remember these'_ he thought, _'from when Luna and I went down to the shore in … No … No, even happy memories won't do right now.'_

Figuring he probably wasn't going to get the most out of reading about Screaming Sea Holly right now, Neville decided to just put the book down and relax. _'I've read almost half the book today anyway'_ he thought.

He sat back and turned to look out the window, ready to chill out until he could see his grandmother return. When he looked out he actually saw a man walking up the path towards his house. Before he could recognise who it was, the man had knocked on the door. Reluctantly, Neville got out of his grandfather's chair to answer.

"Hey Neville!" It was Harry Potter.

"Oh, Harry, hi. How're you?"

"I'm fine, mate, was actually popping around to ask you that very question. So, uh, how are you? Since, quitting and everything."

"I'm good actually, thanks to McGonagall the whole teacher training thing got sorted really quickly for me. Oh, and come on in!" Neville stepped aside allowing his friend into the house.

"I didn't just come to ask how you were. I did come to ask you but, I have other things to ask too, I mean …" Harry started, "First, I should probably give you this – an official invitation for the wedding!"

Harry handed Neville a golden envelope which opened up and in scarlet lettering read:

 _Neville Longbottom (plus guest),_

 _You are cordially invited to the wedding of_

 _Harry James Potter & Ginevra Molly Weasley_

 _On the date of December 28_ _th_ _2003_

 _Please RSVP by Owl, the bride and groom hope to see you there_

 _'Next month?'_ Neville thought, ' _that's quite soon …_ '

He looked up from the invitation to Harry's face. Harry was beaming and seemingly waiting for an answer. "I'll definitely be there, Harry, don't worry. Next month is soon though isn't it?"

"Well yes it's soon but hey! When you're in love and you know it, what's the use in waiting, eh?" Harry chucked in his answer before suddenly his face turned more serious. "One final question, Neville … "

"Sure"

"How do you feel about being a grooms-man?"

"Really? You want me to actually play a part in this wedding!"

"Yeah, really! We've been friends since we were 11. Ron is best man of course but you can think of yourself as the second-best-man if you like? That is, if you want-"

"That sounds great, Harry"

"Wonderful! Though I do have to warn you, if you run into Seamus and he asked you should probably call yourself the 'tied-third-best-man' instead" He nudged. "Also, you may have noticed on the invite but there is a plus one option. I know you'll be attending but if you want to bring anyone then just send us an owl and we'll sort it. Well, unless you're going with someone already invited, then they've already got a place counted and we won't need to add another. Although, you could send us an owl anyway, even if they are already invited, just to fill us in on he or she may be, eh?"

A buzzing noise then began in Harry's robes. "Its work, I've got to go." He explained, quite unnecessarily as Neville understood the buzzing noise quite well from his own time as an Auror. "Ron'll be in touch about the stag stuff soon!" And with that he left, Apparating away.

 _'A plus one … sure, who could I take except for maybe … '_ He glanced at their fresh owl post box and noticed a letter, unopened, surely from this morning from Hannah Abbott. The letter read:

 _Hi Neville,_

 _Had a lot of fun the other night! Just wanted to let you know I have next Tuesday off! Maybe we could hang out somewhere that's not the Leaky Cauldron_

 _Hannah :)_ _xo_

 _'I guess there is someone I could take'_ He thought as he put the letter in his pocket.

 ** _The Beach near the Shell Cottage, December 31_** ** _st_** ** _1999_**

 _Luna had dragged him out and away from the large party that was being thrown for New Years. They laughed and ran, hand in hand, towards the beach._

 _"New centuries are supposed to attract water scurries I hope we can see them from here." She said as they_

 _Neville had no idea what 'water scurries' were and he doubted they'd see them tonight but the look on her face meant he didn't quite care about anything else right now._

 _"10, 9, 8, 7-_

 _They could hear the Weasley clan and friends count down into the year 2000_

 _4, 3, 2, 1! HORRAY HAPPY NEW YEAR!"_

 _Fireworks flew up into the sky and Neville watched Luna's intense eyes on the ocean._

 _"I can't seem to see any … oh well, I did read they preferred hot waters. I shall try next century in Madagascar" She said, now turning to face Neville._

 _They moved closer, the fireworks, the ocean it all seemed- "Quite romantic" Neville blurted aloud._

 _Luna giggled in response and leant in to kiss him when a very sudden and very loud firework went off and awoke the Screaming Sea Holly that was not too far from the beach._

 _Neville's face fell, sure that she'd find the moment completely ruined, until Luna said "I think it's very romantic"_

 _They Kissed._

 ** _The Beach near the Shell Cottage, January 1_** ** _st_** ** _2000_**

 ** _AN: Thank you all for reading and reviewing, I've responded by message so I hope you got those! Thought to add a little bit of background to maybe why Neville seemed to miss Luna so much, but even here we can clearly see he's moving forward. Still I didn't want it to seem like Luna was horrible she and Rolf just had more in common I think. Anyway this was short but sweet, I think it's official that we'll be moving from focus between Neville and Hannah as we have been (although I didn't plan that it worked out though haha) enough rambling from me! Thanks again and I'll see you next chapter!_**


	5. A Day in Hogsmeade

**Hogsmeade, November 18** **th** **2003**

2:12pm

 _'You were supposed to be meeting him at 2pm! Ugh! He's going to hate you for making him wait'_ Hannah scolded herself as she appeared in Hogsmeade Stations' floo-network fireplace _. 'You should've checked that you had the floo powder last night! Now look at you!'_ She checked her reflection in a station mirror as she headed towards the village. Her normally stylish loose bun looked a lot more like a birds' nest on her head. She pulled her hair out of the tie and hoped it would lie reasonably neat for her.

As she left the station and headed up the main street she saw Neville sitting waiting for her on a bench near The Three Broomsticks, where they had planned to meet.

"Hi!" she shouted and waved enthusiastically to get his attention. "I'm so, so sorry I'm a so late! I ran out of floo powder and I couldn't apparate because I never retook my test, yknow after the horrific experience of the first one" she rushed out as she approached him.

"Hannah! Hi, don't worry I wasn't waiting too long … I was actually late myself. I got a little distracted in my reading and lost track of time. I probably only got here first because I did Apparate. Although, from what I remember happened to you I really don't blame you from avoiding Apparition."

"Yeah, it's kinda hard to get over leaving your left arm behind … " She rubbed the back of her neck and gave a nervous laugh.

"You were always fine in the classes, I think the exam pressure just got to you. Again, not that I blame you, that examiner was super strict. Did you know they failed Ron Weasley on account of half an eyebrow?" He stood up from the bench. "Well, the only thing that matters is that we're both here now … so, um, shall we?" He outstretched his hand for her to hold and gave his signature soft smile.

She took his hand and scoffed internally at her earlier fears that he might be upset with her being late. "We shall."

They walked all around the village, window shopping and reminiscing about old school trips they'd taken. They even went into Honeydukes and bought some Chocolate Frogs just for the cards, a hobby Hannah seemed to have dropped from childhood. It was nice to revel in the nostalgia.

After a couple of hours they decided to circle back towards The Three Broomsticks for a few drinks to finish off their day.

They entered the pub and ordered their drinks before finding a nice corner booth to sit in. Neville began the conversation, "So, the invitations for the wedding of the century are out now"

"Yeah, it seems so soon!"

"That's what I said when Harry showed me!"

"Well, I guess that means that Ernie's rumour had a hint of truth in it." Hannah sipped her Butterbeer.

"Wait, what rumour?"

"Oh, um," Hannah stumbled, embarrassed she'd mentioned it to Neville. He was quite a close friend to Ginny and Harry, she hoped he wouldn't take the rumour in a negative way. "Well, the rumour was that it was going to be a short engagement … because … " She lowered her voice as Ernie had when he was first telling her, "Ginny is pregnant and they want to get married before she shows."

Neville was quiet for a moment. "Huh" he replied. "Harry just gave me some rushed out explanation about how when you're in love you just can't wait anymore so I guess I'll not believe rumours but I'll keep it in mind … it would make sense really"

"It would?"

"Yeah, I mean, I found the short engagement a little funny myself and at the Leaky Cauldron party Ginny kept refusing drinks. Ron took hers the whole night. That's why he ended up dancing against Seamus while you and I were outside."

"Oh … but refusing drinks doesn't mean she's pregnant … it's still just a rumour right?"

"Of course it's not definite. Ginny can get these health kicks where she quits something unhealthy and she could've easily done that with drinking. So I suppose, yes it's just a rumour, but if it is true I think we'll all find out pretty soon."

The two drank for a bit in silence before Neville spoke up again.

"So do you have a plus one?"

"Huh?"

"A plus one? For Harry and Ginny's wedding … Do you have a date?"

"Oh, I-uh, no? … or um … that depends."

"Depends on what?"

"Depends on if he's asking me?" Hannah tried her best to flutter her eyelashes and hoped that Neville understood what she was inferring.

"Oh…" Neville went quiet, his face fell.

Hannah suddenly felt very awkward. "Are you? I mean, um, do you have a date?"

Neville trained his eyes on the glass in front of him as he answered "I'm … not sure …" A thick pause held in the air. "I might just go alone."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Maybe we should change the subject?"

"Yeah."

"What about … uh … Anything else funny or cool happen recently?" Neville asked, the mood feeling lifted for a moment out of the low the conversation had seemingly crashed into.

"Ok let me think" She tapped the edge of her glass as she thought over her past week. "Well, Ernie spent his weekend exploring around muggle-Dublin in Ireland and he brought me cool Irish souvenirs!"

"Ernie … you seem to talk about him a lot …"

Hannah was quite taken aback by Neville's suspicious tone. "Well, yes, I do." She tried to look Neville in the eyes but he once again had them trained on his glass. "Ernie's my friend … Neville … He comes into the Cauldron a lot and he's my …. He's my friend."

Neville looked back up and into her eyes. His face still a little suspicious but he seemed comforted by her words. "What did he bring?"

Hannah's face lit up again as she began telling Neville all about the presents her friend had got for her, including the supposedly-fake leprechaun gold which turned out to be real leprechaun gold and so disappeared during the journey back. He had told Hannah she could keep the bag it came in though as well as a book he'd bought her on Faerie lore.

As they talked their usual relaxed mood returned. The earlier awkwardness was soon forgotten, as they'd silently agreed to avoid discussing their potential availability for the upcoming wedding, they fell into a comfortable conversation. They parted amicably, Neville assuring he'd be in The Leaky Cauldron as soon as he got the chance.

 **/end of chapter 5/**

 **AN: Hey everyone! apologies for the slight delay on this update and sorry it's a tad shorter than the last few chapters but I've had a lot of personal stuff happening and I really wanted to just get this updated. And ooh these two were being very annoying this chapter - NEVILLE CAN'T YOU SEE SHE WANTED YOU TO ASK HER? haha and yet I ended up writing it like this oops - anyway I maybe have ideas for 3 or 4 more chapters for this fic, a few of them might be short but one I KNOW will be longer**

 **Thank you everyone for your support with this story it's really inspiring and pushes me to write more :)**


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